SingPost mall a world first

Singapore Post has started construction of a 25,000 sqm shopping centre which will allow online and offline retailers to showcase their products, side by side.

The new SingPost mall will offer “a complete suite of eCommerce logistics solutions” aiming to create opportunities for businesses and cater to the evolving needs of consumers.

The new $150 million retail mall at Singapore Post Centre (SPC) will offer greater convenience, choices and experiences to consumers by providing online e-merchants and offline bricks-and-mortar shops all under one roof, the postal service company explains. Online shopping through e-merchants will include in-shop online ordering and flexibility in delivery and pickup timings.

A groundbreaking ceremony yesterday marked the commencement of the construction at SPC. The new mall is scheduled to be completed around mid-2017 and be located in front of the SPC, next to the Paya Lebar MRT station.

Lim Ho Kee, SingPost’s chairman, says the development of the retail mall at SPC is part of the company’s efforts to extract maximum value from its property portfolio and support its accelerated transformation from Singapore mail into a global eCommerce logistics business.

SingPost says when the mall opens, it will “revolutionise retail concepts for consumers and retailers alike”.

“It will be a mall that combines both online and offline shopping. For instance, a consumer could browse in-store, purchase the product and arrange for delivery of the product directly to their home,” the company explained in a statement.

The consumer could then continue shopping, watch a movie or have a meal in the mall without having to carry bulky shopping bags. The retailer, on the other hand, could save on storage space in the store as fulfilment would be done at the backend of the warehouse.

Dr Wolfgang Baier, group CEO of SingPost, described the project as “building a unique and disruptive concept – converging online and offline – to gain maximum customer benefits”.

“With the new retail mall at SPC, consumers can enjoy the best of both worlds – online and offline – while businesses can potentially cut costs and focus on enhancing customer experiences. This is an important shift in mindsets as well as the retail and eCommerce landscapes. The convergence of online and offline will bring exponential benefits to consumers and businesses – therefore we view this as ‘O²’ (O-squared) instead of O2O (Online-to-Offline)¹. The SPC O² retail concept puts consumers at the heart of this evolution, allowing them to have greater retail options and more convenience.”

The new retail mall at SPC will consist of four above ground levels and one basement, an eight-hall cineplex, SingPost’s flagship post office, retail shops, as well as food and beverage outlets. It will have three levels of underground car park.